Dear Clients and Associates December 2013
2013 has almost come to an end
and it’s time for our annual newsletter. Every year we look forward to sharing
the highlights of the past year with you.
A warm welcome to all our new
clients. We trust we can provide the
same value and achieve the same long-term relationship, as with our established
client base. All our new clients are referrals. We appreciate the trust and
support.
Again we have clients who
retired during the past year. We wish you the best with the upcoming new phase
and would like to encourage you to use the new-found and well-deserved time to
the benefit of the community and other peoples’ lives.
Thank you to all the clients
who always make time for their biannual or annual appointments. It is important
for us to review your portfolios and financial needs, to make revisions in an
ever-changing environment. Please confirm if your situation has changed in any
way, especially before an appointment, for us to take the changes into
consideration.
We are proud of our clients
who completed their studies. For
those of you who haven’t received an offer yet, e-mail your CV’s to us and we
can try to forward it to potential employers. We are proud to have assisted in
successful appointments previously.
We appreciate and encourage
feedback to constantly improve our practice. Thank you for all the e-mails we
receive consistantly.
Antoni designed a spreadsheet
for our investment clients to view fund performances. The feedback has been great.
We also upgraded our Financial Needs Analysis program (F.N.A) to determine our
clients’ financial goals and needs.
Sad News
We are sad about the passing
of Oom Raymond la Grange, whom we’ve known for 15 years – it was a privilege to
assist Tannie la Grange and the family with his illness and passing. Marius,
thank you for the kind words at the funeral.
We are thinking of families
who went through a divorce during the past year.
Our thoughts are also with the
Laing family with their loss and wish you all the best.
A speedy recovery to all those
who were diagnosed with a serious physical or mental illness.
Inspiration
Tannie Sarie Lombard was suddenly diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s and admitted to Geluksoord after a fall. Before her illness she
transported the elderly, who couldn’t manage on their own, to clinics. She went
to the gym to swim every week at the age of 83 years.
Before Oom Raymond la Grange’s death, he transported patients
to the Wynberg Millitary Hospital. He assisted people everywhere he could and
was 77 years of age.
Thank you for being an inspiration and example to us all.
We joined our business forum and got involved in cleaning
our beaches monthly and also with other charity initiatives. We encourage you
to also take on similar projects in aid of the community.
Reflecting
on 2013
We are excited about the launch of our new website – www.tvzfinancialservices.co.za. Please visit us and comment on our Facebook page. Thank
you to Tina Vlok (www.berryweb.co.za) for all the hard work. We also
personalised our client folders.
Studies
We keep up with the prescribed studies and workshops to
stay up to date with the ever-changing industry. We wish Antoni good luck with
the continuation of his studies as a Financial and Investment Analyst, in 2014.
Tax
assessments
The tax assessments are submitted and finalised. E-filing is an asset and big improvement
on previous procedures. SARS has done audits mostly on clients with vehicle
allowances and steep vehicle expenses. Please keep your log book up to date and
forward the tax documentation as early as possible, to enable us to submit the
assessments in good time next year.
Due to changing legislation for tax practitioners, we
might perhaps have to make alternative arrangements in the future, but we will
keep you updated.
Short-term
insurance
Thank you to Elmarie for her extra effort in the takeover
of Hannes Borman’s clients, due to his retirement.
Rumours have it that tradional insurers like Mutual &
Federal and Santam are under financial pressure, mainly due to brokers
promoting quantity instead of quality. Our team’s policy is,however, to offer
the best, not necessarily the cheapest, products to our clients.
Statistics confirm traditional insurers maintain at least
a 70% claim payment ratio,compared to the 52% of direct insurers. Cheaper
premiums can, therefore result in losses during claims, which is ultimately the
main reason for taking insurance. We don’t promote certain companies’ products,
due to our own integrity and for ethical reasons. We only deal with companies
that maintain a respected claims history. Before opting for cheaper insurance,
make certain that they offer the same coverage as your current insurance, or
you may be the loser in the long run.
We will contact you with the annual renewal to discuss
your policy but in case your situation changes please contact us immediately.
For
enquiries during the Festive season when our office is close:
Mutual & Federal clients Tel:
021-506 0100 (Claims)
Tel: 0860
247 365 (After hours emergencies)
Tel:
0860 637 373 (Enquiries)
Santam Tel: 0860 505 911
(Claims and after hours emergencies)
Tel: 0860
726 826 (Enquiries and amendments)
Auto
& General Tel:
021-527 8666 (All claims, enquiries and amendments) Tel: 0860 104 210 (After hours
emergencies)
Estates/Wills
With a real life case study, a client’s will with the
bank was sent to four different agents, before an agent was appointed to deal
with the Deceased Estate. This results in delays with the finalisation of the
estate. Ensure that your will is reviewed annually. The same bank was also not
willing to give discounts on Executor’s fees. We work with respected attorneys,
who can draw up and keep the Will for safekeeping without charging fees. Please
contact us, should you have further more enquiries in this regard.
There were also cases where a loved-one passed away and
the relatives couldn’t find the will, or other personal documentation like the
marriage certificate. Keep all the documentation in one folder or we can store
it electronically on your behalf. This will save time and frustration when a
claim must be submitted.
Thank you to Visagie, Vos and Partners and the legal
advisors of the product providers, in particular Petri Lourens, for your
expertise and personal service.
Investments/
creation of wealth
2013 was characterised with constant low interest rates
and good share performances. Economists predict lower returns in 2014 and
interest rates could increase in the last quarter. Our biggest challenge is to choose the best and most successful fund
managers. Statistics show that
clients working with advisors receive, on average, 1,8% better returns
per annum than clients managing their own investments.
We
are proud and grateful that we beat this percentage with ease.
Our portfolio performed as follows:
Risk Profile
|
2012
|
2013
|
Conservative
|
11%
|
10,13%
|
Cautious
|
12,2%
|
13,89%
|
Moderate
|
13,7%
|
17,07%
|
Moderately aggressive
|
16,6%
|
22,36%
|
Thank you to our consultants, fund managers and in
particular Antoni from our office for the effort and support. Clients on the
verge of retirement do, indeed, need professional assistance to make the
correct decision. The incorrect advice/ decision can have far-reaching
consequences. You are welcome to refer any person close to retirement, for a
free presentation.
Life
cover/ disability/ severe illness benefits
In 2012 the industry paid claims to the value of R263,2
milliard. However, R699,9 million claims were not paid, mainly due to fraud and
misrepresentation. We can proudly confirm not one of
our clients had a claim rejection yet. Please,
therefore, be patient with us while we ensure the medical requirements are met,
as we would like to keep the good rejection-free record, to the benefit of our
clients.
It came under our attention that some advisors still
replace policies every two years with new policies (after the full commission
has been received). There are, however, new generation policies which are
better than the old products and must, therefore, be replaced to benefit the
client. You should obtain an independent opinion in this regard and report any
irregularity to the FSB.
We reviewed bank statements of some clients who had
funeral policies and hospital plans of which they weren’t aware. In some cases,
employees of the companies were nominated as the beneficiary, without the
knowledge of the client. Please review your bank statements carefully, or we
can assist you during our annual appointment.
As there is an increasing amount of marketing material
focussing on premium paybacks after a certain number of years, please be
cautious, as there are usually a number of conditions in respect of such
paybacks. We have also found that the monthly premiums are usually more
expensive than normal. If the client invests the difference in premium over the
same period, the client would most probably receive a better return (payback),
without the applicable conditions.
Our work-load increased this year, due to requests for
proof of income for, among others,
municipal accounts, which must be done biannually or annually, and often
on short notice.
On a
personal note
Janneri is working full-time again after her maternity
leave and Elmarie is working between 12h00 – 16h00. Our daughter, Kirsten
assists us part-time to help with our work-load, while finishing her studies.
Our grandchild, Anja, was born on 29 December 2012 and
brings us great pleasure.
Our client base is still growing each year and we would
like to thank each and every one of you for the part you have played in our
success - we really appreciate your support.
We are positive and look forward to 2014. Our offices
will be closed from 23 December and will re-open on 6 January 2014. We will use
the short break to ‘recharge our batteries’.
Merry
Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!
Kind
regards
From
all of us at Toni van Zyl Financial Services
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